Wild Fire
by Ichika01
Summary: She was born from the Sun, but there is no such thing as prophecy's child. She would trail her own star path. (Or: the warring clans era au absolutely no one asked for.) Image by StockSnap on Pixabay.


HELLO HELLO YES MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE THANK YOU. Please note that this story is written in a quite different manner, in a much more subjective/open way, so to speak. This is partly because our protagonist doesn't know what's going on half the time, and partly because I want it to be that way. I want it to be as open to interpretation as possible, and I **want **you to have more questions than answers.

Disclaimer: I own only the plot and any original characters.

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**Wild Fire**

1/2

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The days always start early, without fail, whether it's summer or winter - partly because it's our way of life, and partly because there is always a lot of work to be done at the shrine.

"Good morning, Asahi-sama."

"Ah, good morning indeed, my child."

Food and laundry duty is split between the two other priests aside from Asahi-sama, middle-aged men who gossip and squabble far too much while they do it.

"Gin, would you care to wash the bowls more thoroughly? There are still leftovers in this one."

"Well, Hachirou, if your rice weren't so sticky I wouldn't have any problems washing it."

Keeping the old shrine from collapsing while making sure it's clean is the job of the two other shrine maidens, also called _miko_, thirty-something year old widows who have ran away from the conflicts. How they manage to keep an ancient wooden building looking new _and _keep a small vegetable garden is honestly far beyond me.

"Mao-san, the radish we picked today made an excellent soup."

"The pickled cucumber you have made also goes quite well with the fish, Nagisa-san."

Most of the purifying job goes to the Head Priest, Asahi-sama, who is a wrinkly old man with kind features and a soft heart. He never turns down anyone who comes to the shrine to worship the gods or to simply have a moment of peace, and funnily enough, the cane he uses poses a great threat to anyone who wishes to disturb these sacred grounds.

"Here, child."

Sitting at the head of the table, he gestures for Nagisa-san to pass a side dish to me - a pink mochi wrapped in sakura leaves, my favorite dessert.

The smile comes easily. I feel my cheeks stretching and my eyes wrinkle from how wide I'm beaming, and Asahi-sama serenely smiles back.

"Thank you, Asahi-sama. But, why…?"

Next to me, Nao-san huffs and looks at me with exasperated fondness, expertly rearranging my hair.

"Today marks the beginning of your seventh spring, child. Do not be so forgetful as to let your own birthday slip by."

"Congratulations, dear."

"Seven already? I believe we're getting old, Gin."

"_You're_ getting old, Hachirou. I'm at the peak of my youth."

There's a happy glow that refuses to let me go for the rest of the day. Even if it's not what I might have wanted or expected for this new chance at life, I'm happy.

I'm not actually seven years old, but only Asahi-sama might know that. Sometimes I think the old man is onto me, because there are days he looks at me with that twinkle on his eyes. As if he somehow knows I remember a past life even though I haven't mentioned anything to anyone.

'You are far too wise for your age, my dear.' He'd say.

'Perhaps it is because she has only ever had contact with adults, Asahi-sama.' Mao-san would helpfully suggest.

'Yes. There are few children in the village down the river, and they do not come here often.' Nagisa-san would agree.

The head priest, however, would only hum thoughtfully and not answer, looking as smug as the cat that caught the canary.

They get weaker by the day, but sometimes I remember flashes and see glimpses from a life that is not my current one; everything was vastly different and nothing really resembles Before, but that's okay.

Life as a shrine maiden in what seems to be feudal Japan isn't actually that bad, and I'm glad.

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* * *

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"Why don't you come amuse an old man, dear?"

The Sun is about to set and all chores have been done for the day. Everyone is ready to go to sleep, except maybe for the Head Priest and myself. As he sits in simple robes with a cup of tea in hand, I can't help but feel an overwhelming amount of affection for this kind man.

The elder man pours some green tea for me as well, and for a while we just sit there, in comfortable silence. By this point in my new life, I know better than to ask whatever is on his mind. When he feels the need to, he'll speak.

My patience is rewarded a few moments later, when he sighs and looks meaningfully at the pond, where the Sun plays with pink, orange, and blue colors. Sunset has always been his favorite time of the day.

"Seven years ago, I had a dream. It was incredibly vivid, and had I not known I was sleeping, I would have surely mistaken it for reality."

He's here, but at the same time not. The cup of tea still sits in his hand, warm enough for me to see the steam coming out of it, but he doesn't seem to be aware of it. Instead, Asahi-sama looks like he's going back to that memory, something that probably has to do with me. I keep quiet and listen.

"Our shrine was originally dedicated to Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, as you well know. A lot of smaller shrines have been destroyed because of the conflicts between the ninja clans, which is why many other deities can be worshipped here, but our shrine serves Amaterasu, first and foremost.

You will soon learn that our gods and deities have a special way of communicating with those they deem worthy of such an honor. For me, that has always happened in the shape of dreams, although those haven't been very frequent in my long life.

On this day, seven years ago, Amaterasu-oomikami spoke to me in a dream. She showed me a small baby, born from an unknown father and a mother that died at childbirth. And sunlight shone on that baby, as if kissing the soft skin and calming the newborn down. The baby had brown hair just like the bark of the sakura trees, and blue eyes as dark as the deep waters of the river. Amaterasu-oomikami herself stroked the baby's face and trailed a star path there."

The head priest looks meaningfully back at the pond, suddenly in the present once again. I follow his lead and see our reflections, his pale and wrinkled skin in contrast to my sun kissed and freckled face. His bald head against my mob of brown hair. His aged pink eyes looking at my own blue ones.

'_What are you saying here, Asahi-sama?'_

"That child was blessed by the Sun Goddess herself, how could I do anything other than look for the baby? A small, healthy, and lively baby girl who made this old man remember just why we are here and why we do what we do."

He runs a hand through my hair, loose from its usual low ponytail, eyes seeing something I can't quite reach.

"I chose to name that child. For her last name, 'the great Sun'; for her given one, 'a thousand times early'."

The head priest then sighs, an amused look in his aged eyes. The serious moment has not passed, but he's letting me know this is not so grave we can't relax.

"Oohi is not even a proper last name. I'm not sure if there are any Oohi families."

The implications want to trash around in my head, making me want to run to my room and sleep for a week, then maybe sort this whole thing out - but this is not the time for that, and I will honor the man who took me in. The smile I send him might be small, but it's honest.

"I don't mind, Asahi-sama. I like my name."

He smiles, wide and free, a weight lifting from his frame.

"I'm glad, Chihaya."

"Why now, though?" I can't help but ask.

"Ah, this old man had yet another dream yesterday. Our Sun Goddess told me it was time you learned the truth."

"Did she say what I am to do with it?"

This time he grins, an amused upward curve of his lips that make him look ten years younger. Sometimes, I think Asahi-sama never stopped being a child at heart.

"You are the child of our Sun, Chihaya. You can do with this information whatever you will."

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Nothing much changes from that day.

We still wake up before dawn, we still do our jobs at the shrine, we still enjoy the moments we share.

I usually don't dream, and when I do, I often forget about it before I'm out of bed. No god or deity speaks to me that way, and I surely don't get possessed by them, as some miko do.

Instead, sometimes I feel a… pull, of sorts. Something that calls out to me without a voice, but I can still hear it all the same. Some days it's the rustle of the leaves, or the flow of the river. It might even be the singing of the insects or the chirping of the birds.

Regardless of how it happens, a year has passed since then, and our way of life values nature too much for me to ignore its small messages.

The wind breezes by me, messing up the pile of dead leaves I'd been sweeping. It carries some of them over to the entrance, and as I blink, I see an adult standing at the red gates with two children. I blink again and the vision is gone.

'_Huh. Children don't come by here that often, that's true, but I wonder what's so special about these…'_

"Chihaya, have you finished your morning prayers?"

I turn around and Gin stands behind me, wearing one of his official priest robes. I nod my head.

"Yes."

The ash blonde man shakes his head, a smile tugging at his lips.

"C'mon, it's autumn now. You won't ever finish sweeping the entrance. Can you purify the water for me? Nagisa-san and I are heading down to the village near the mountains, and some people might come here after that."

The way the usually cheerful man grimaces catches me by surprise, since Gin has never worn such an expression in front of me. I tilt my head, conveying my question through body language.

"Ah, it's nothing you need to worry about. Just…"

"Gin-san, we are ready to go."

Nagisa-san appears out of thin air, clad in our traditional miko clothes and hair set in a low ponytail. The brunette looks sternly at the priest, who seems to shrink under her glare.

"Chihaya, dear, we will not be long. After you purify the water, would you please assist Hachirou-san with the laundry?"

There's obviously something they don't want me to know, but if they are trying to dissuade me from looking at it, they're doing it wrong. Still, if I have learned anything from living in a shrine, it's patience.

"Of course, Nagisa-san. Please take care, the both of you."

Brief goodbyes are exchanged, and I put the broom away before taking my time purifying the water.

The Purification Fountain is a long construction made of bamboo that can be seen right away from the entrance's point of view. People who come to the shrine can do a simple purifying ritual washing their face and hands in the fountain so they become pure enough to approach the god - and isn't 'pure' such a subjective word? Here, it simply means you cleanse away any bad deeds you might have done before coming to the shrine, whether it was against nature or other humans.

The actual act of purifying the fountain water, however, can only be done by one of the shrine staff. Usually, a more experienced miko or one of the priests would do it, but we are always short staffed. Looking at the bigger picture, simple tasks like this often fall to me.

I put my hands together in prayer, and the action alone is enough to lull me into a meditative state. For this ritual, a series of prayers from ancient collections are read, and although everything is in a different version of the language we use here, it's not hard to imagine we're praying to the gods, worshipping nature, and being thankful for our blessings. It's what Asahi-sama said they meant, at least.

I'm nearly done with the ritual when the fountain water splashes me in the face. It makes me more aware of my surroundings, even if I'm still saying the prayers. Three water drops fall from my cheeks and plop down in succession, one making a louder noise than the other two.

'_Ah, they're here.'_

The wind caresses my face, bringing with it more awareness.

I'm used to the calming energy of the shrine. The way we follow a routine, the way no one raises their voice, ever. The way we all live in peace, worshipping our gods and nature.

The three new arrivals have none of that.

My head feels heavy with their tense energy, coiled and poised to attack at any second. It's restless and oppressing, and I nearly interrupt the ritual for how much it bothers me.

The leaves on the trees rustle, and I can breathe again. I finish my prayers in another few moments, and finally open my eyes to study the newcomers.

Two of them clearly look related, but I suspect all three are close relatives, if only for the way they subtly stay close to one another. The adult, a man with enough suppressed energy to make me shiver even from a distance, looks older than he actually is - as seen by his numerous scars and battle-weary face.

Next to either side of him are two boys. One of them with swirling energy similar to the adult's, yet so vastly different in its potential and depth, and the other with an ocean in his body. Both look as different as Sun and Moon, the tallest one a copy of the adult, with wood in his veins; the other, white-haired and red-eyed in contrast to the angry waters beneath pale skin.

For a second, butterflies flutter around my face. I blink, and behind the Wooden One there is a man in white robes, from a time that's long past. I blink again and the man disappears.

"Pardon our interruption, miko-dono." Both boys suddenly look at the man as if seeing him for the first time, and something tells me he doesn't normally speak like that. "We would like to say our prayers to Amaterasu-oomikami."

"Have you brought harm?" I ask, very much like Asahi-sama would. It's the first thing he asks of anyone who comes here, whether they are ninjas or not.

The adult shakes his head once, despite his and the boys' battle armors at the ready.

"No, miko-dono."

I nod once then step back, reassured that no one is going to do anything for the moment. I watch as the man takes the lead and walks with slow but sure steps to the fountain, where he first washes his hands then his face. After a second of hesitation, the boys follow his lead.

The Wooden One glances at me curiously, and the butterflies tell me I should watch out for him.

Before long, all three have said their prayers, and the man even makes an offering.

"Have a good day, miko-dono." He says respectfully before turning around to leave. The Wooden One flashes me a quick grin and a wave, but the Ocean One doesn't spare me a glance.

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Asahi-sama sometimes says it's only because of the Sun Goddess that the shrine isn't affected by the ongoing conflicts - whether it's because the Sun herself protects us or because the ninja still have some respect for sacred beings, it is unknown.

Not a few weeks into winter it's possible to see the change in the nearby villages. Less and less people come this far out, and even less come bearing offerings. It's a tough time of the year for everyone, but it's only heightened by all the battles and stealing.

While often not in the direct line of fire, shrines and temples suffer the consequences of this century-long feud, taking damages against the structures, losing valuable items, or simply having their staff die one by one for being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I would be immensely happy to say that Amaterasu-oomikami would never let anything bad happen to our shrine, but the mind of men is fickle and selfish. They cannot control their thirst for power and control."

"_We_ can, though."

The head priest grins at me, an expression he's been wearing more and more often when it's just the two of us.

I like it.

"Yes, I like to think we're a bit special, you and I. Not that the other four would ever do anything like that, but the gods don't speak to them the way they do to us."

"Do you still have dreams, Asahi-sama?"

"Ah, once in a blue moon, my child. You talk to the deities a lot more often than I do, surely."

It's teasing just as much as it is prodding. Whether the gods do actually speak to me or not, it's something I'm a little selfish in sharing. It's not about trust or anything like that, I just feel like…

Like there's a connection between us - me, nature, and the gods - and I want to cherish it for as long as possible.

I shrug, not wanting to answer, but not wanting to be rude either. I settle for a half-truth.

"It's mostly a one-way conversation. I don't usually talk to them."

"Oh?"

While the truth, it's not the entire truth. Quite frequently I'll hear whispers through messengers of nature, but sometimes I'll ask something in return. Ever since the encounter with the three ninjas, I've caught myself wondering what else could I learn - what else would the gods be willing to tell me - if I just _asked_.

Mao-san says it's cute how I've taken to humming during my chores, but it's how I ask these questions. I don't quite remember how I started doing it; one moment the leaves were rustling to me, the next, I hum back and they answer. Usually, the same ones answer.

Sometimes different beings answer.

Yesterday, the snails told me of more visitors to our shrine, also ones I should watch out for. When I asked them what exactly I should watch out for - what kind of energy I should expect - the ones who answered me were the hummingbirds.

"I just don't know what this all means. Are the gods really speaking to me? Or is it that Nature's Energy?" I ask instead of answering. Part of me feels bad for being so selfish, but another one, the curious one, braves on.

"Are they not the same?"

"Huh?"

Asahi-sama smiles patiently at me, guiding me forward. As we reach the trees lining the entrance, he grabs my hand in his and puts it on the nearest bark, closing his eyes.

"What do you feel, child?"

I mimic his actions and close my eyes as well. Immediately, the world slows to a stop and the only piece that matters is this tiny bubble made of myself, Asahi-sama, and the tree. There's a warm cocoon constantly wrapped around me, but it's especially present whenever the gods - nature? - talk to me. I feel it calming me down in waves, in breaths of caution and encouragement. I feel the tree, solid and sturdy even during the coldest of the months, reassuring and constant.

It tells me to let go. It also tells me to embrace it.

"I feel life."

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A week after that, I finally meet the three new visitors.

Much like the ones that came in autumn, there are two boys with one adult, and the three look closely related, all with pale skin and dark ebony hair. Their energy is also coiled up like a snake's, but it feels hotter, somehow, like the smoldering heat of a blacksmith's workshop - scalding and suffocating.

The squirrels chirp from the trees, warning me about the youngest. His energy is much more oppressing than even the adult's, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when he looks at me.

"Miko-dono." The adult, possibly their father, speaks from the entrance. The only one here besides me is Gin, who's sick and needs to rest. If a fight were to happen…

"Have you brought harm?" I ask, as Asahi-sama would. From above, a hawk screeches almost warningly, as if backing me up.

Like the one before him, the man shakes his head in negative. "No, miko-dono. We have come to say our prayers to the Sun Goddess. Word has it this is the only shrine in Fire Country dedicated to Amaterasu-oomikami, our family's namesake."

The youngest looks shocked out of his internal rage, and the other boy looks dubiously at the man for a second. As if they can't believe what they just heard.

In these times, family names are everything. To tell someone your name is the same as telling your life story, your origins, your beliefs.

Not here, though.

"Your family name matters not, shinobi-san. All who wish to worship the Sun are welcome here." I say, and the hawk screeches again. It sounds closer.

The oldest boy shifts his curious eyes to me just as a dragonfly flutters by. Just like with the Wooden One, I blink and see a man with long hair and circles around his red eyes, wearing the same white robes as the other one. I blink again, and pink colors the boy's cheeks despite the cold.

"Of course, miko-dono. May we?"

They are swift in their prayers, even if the boys mostly follow the man's lead. As they leave the shrine, the hawk screeches one last time before landing on the red gates, seemingly following the three with sharp eyes. The red painting of the gates becomes brighter, and soon enough there's a fire, rambunctious and deadly, willing to destroy everything in its path.

The three disappear from my line of sight, as does the fire. In their wake, they leave a bad feeling of sorrow and ash, and as I turn towards the shrine, I put my hands in prayer.

'_Please do not let it be cold enough that it snows. Please let it still be warm enough that it rains.'_

My prayer is answered exactly a week later, when news of a burned down village reach us just as soon as the last rainfall of the season does. It washes away most of the flames, but it only brings forth a heavier feeling in my chest.

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My ninth spring in this new life brings many things with it, good and bad.

Nagisa-san once told me to take it in stride, and although I have a feeling she was talking about Asahi-sama at the time, I adapt it to every situation I find myself in.

At first, I feel like I'm imagining it. Then, moments later, I hear it again - a hoarse howl, full of frustration and anger, and I hum to no one in particular.

'_Please tell me where it's coming from.'_

I hear the howl again just as a crow dashes from the trees. It flies into the crisp spring air in the direction of the rocky mountains, a place where few dare go unprepared.

I hesitate. Should I just leave? Should I tell someone? I still have chores to do-

"Do make sure you're back for dinner, Chihaya."

I whip my head around and see Asahi-sama standing in front of the shrine, at least five meters away from me - yet, it felt as if he was right beside me. He's looking at me with that knowing twinkle in his pink eyes, as if he knows every little secret of mine.

I smile back and drop the broom I'm carrying, dashing down the stairs two at a time. During a time that now seems so far away, I'd have thought nearly impossible to walk, let alone run in shrine maiden clothes, but such is what habit does to you, and I have no problems sprinting forward.

The crow calls out to me from up above, as if saying 'this way!', and soon enough the grassy paths give way to dry soil and rocky ground. The wind whistles sharply in the open fields, but as the rocks become bigger and turn into caves, it carries a song in its flute-like tone.

It leads me straight to the biggest cave in the area, where wild animals often take shelter during winter. There's an entrance half buried beneath clay and dirt, and only when I stop running I realize I'm panting and the Sun is high in the sky.

'_Has it been hours already?'_

Another howl sounds much closer, but it is somehow muffled. There's a frustrated energy behind that forlorn sound, constantly choked by two others that clash and burn together, as well as a feeling of such utter _wrongness _that it makes me sick.

'_Come now, none of that.'_

I say a quick prayer to the Sun Goddess, then another to whoever deity might be listening, and shuffle to the entrance. The air immediately becomes heavier and the sickness increases tenfold, but I can't stop now, I _can't-_

-another howl-

-and I half run to where the sound is, soon hearing two voices.

"H-hey, where didja come from?! A-are you a ghost?!"

I pray to no one and everyone.

'_Let it go.'_

"Don' be stupid, ghosts don' fuckin' exist! Kill 'er!""

I pray to the Sun.

'_Let it go.'_

I pray to myself and dash to grab the golden box where the howl is coming from.

'_Let it go!'_

Groaning, rumbling, and the sky made of rocks starts to fall down on us.

'_No. No, no!'_

"Hey, wait- ah, fuck! My leg!"

The box trembles in my hands, but I don't know if it's because of the being sealed within or if it's because everything around me is shaking.

"You're fuckin' useless-hng!"

Dust flies around my face at the same time something warm splashes on my legs and soaks my hakama.

'_Just go. Just go.'_

I see sunshine straight ahead and make a run for it. The light seems to beckon me closer and closer, and for a minute the brightness blinds me. I feel too warm and too cold at the same time, and the ground continues to shake.

'_Get away. Get away.'_

Bats fly from every dark corner and push me away from the mountains, away from falling stones, away and away.

The sky is pink and orange by the time I stop.

My miko clothes are ruined, torn and dirty from the running. There's a darker blotch on my red hakama pants that I detachedly recognize as blood. My arms are shaking holding the golden box tightly to my chest, and I feel like I could drink an entire lake.

Fireflies erupt from the tall grass and seem to kiss my sweat-dampened skin. 'Thank you for the hard work', they seem to say.

The box is strangely silent in my hands, and only then I realize the entire forest around me is too.

'_As if holding its breath.'_

The lock on the box seems old and intricate, but there's no keyhole. The wind breezes by, rustling the leaves and carrying over the sound of the river. Crickets and frogs start their nightly symphony, and I suddenly feel alive, encouraged by the forest and the life around me. I feel a warm blanket wrap around me despite the coolness of the evening, and although my body is exhausted, my mind is alight with something I can't quite describe.

I put my hand over the lock and hum.

Colors explode and a thick mass of orange floods my vision for a few precious seconds-

_-too much-_

_-energy-_

_-I'm suffocating-_

Something warm and fluffy wraps around my neck, purring for a second before it all fades away into the night. The forest looks and feels the same as ever, only with a well-placed sense of… righteousness. As if everything is back in its place.

I don't know how long I stay there for, but it feels much too soon when Hachirou and Gin come running after me.

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* * *

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I stay quiet even if it's the third time in as many minutes that Mao-san adjusts my miko clothes. The white top is spotless, and the red hakama pants are ironed to perfection. The middle aged woman pats down my hair, set in the usual shrine maiden low ponytail, and pinches my cheeks once.

"There you are."

The usually poised woman looks agitated, constantly rearranging my clothes and making sure I've got everything I need with me.

"Thank you, Mao-san." I say sincerely, and she stops for a second before she smiles at me, small but reassuring.

"It is no problem at all, child. It _is _your first miko job outside the temple. Are you excited?"

"Yes." I reply honestly, but the woman gives me a warning pinch on the left cheek, eyes trained on me.

"I know you are eager to go outside, but remember to be cautious. Stay close to the adults and do not talk if people do not talk to you first."

I nod, even if I've got the feeling that everything's going to be alright. Hachirou-san and Asahi-sama plus myself are heading to the village down the river, and no ninja conflicts have been reported nearby. The last clash against the two main families happened over a week ago, close to the mountains, and even though Mao-san looks worried, something in me tells me I'll be fine.

"We're all set to go." As if summoned, Hachirou-san and Asahi-sama approach us, the two of them in official shrine clothes just like myself. Our head priest wears more formal robes while the other man wears a slightly simpler version of it, but they both give off the same peaceful, calming energy.

That same energy follows us all the way to the small, weathered down village, where we're welcomed warmly. Even if these people have seen better days and struggle to put food on the table, they still manage to offer us whatever they have managed to scrap from these lands, and I make sure to smile and thank them. It's such a tender thing, how far kindness can go, and it spreads around my chest and makes me feel _alive_.

We're just finishing up when a chill runs down my spine and a sparrow rushes by in front of my nose. I look back in the direction it came from and see red.

The screaming follows right after, and it's suddenly everywhere. People rush by back and forth, some not knowing what's going on. Hachirou-san is quick to pull me aside, telling me to be good and sprinting to where all the commotion is.

A bunch of moths fly out from a whole in the bark of the tree I'm leaning on.

'_Bandits.'_ They whisper, and I frantically look back to a village that's quickly drowning in chaos, seeing people go down faster than they can stand back up to fight. My chest squeezes and I feel like crying, everything is _wrong-_

A new shade of red appears. It spins and brings me in at the same time my mind is screaming at it to let me go. It takes one second for me to notice the red is actually on a person's eyes, and another one for me to confirm that yes, the eyes _are _spinning. I feel like vomiting all of a sudden, but then the face turns into a snarl-

I'm not really proud to say I panic. I'm even less inclined to say I headbutt the adult with everything I have and rush forward, right between his legs and away. I hear shouting behind me, and I even feel brushes of hands that try to grab at my clothes but fail.

I'm running away from the man, but right into the middle of the conflict. Here, the energy is so much worse it brings me to my knees, and everything is wrong-wrong-wrong-

A hoarse cry snaps me out of it and I stumble onto unsteady legs, looking for the source. To my left there's an injured woman holding a crying baby in her arms, her husband lying dead at her feet. Half-hidden behind the open door of the burning house are three terrified children, held hostage by two bandits wearing red.

It all comes rushing at me in a surprisingly calm manner. There's a sense of wrongness that I need to fix. I see the two adults - males, around their thirties, brandishing knives - and the knowledge just appears right behind my eyes.

I spring forward.

'_The backs of our joints are quite fragile.'_ Asahi-sama's voice flutters in my head. _'If you hit them hard and precisely enough, you might even be able to render it useless for a bit of time.'_

I quickly reach the first of the bandits, and I use the element of surprise to my advantage. Nagisa-san's teachings make me hold my index and middle fingers ramrod straight and glued to one another. I hit the back of the knee of the man with my fingers once, then twice. He falls down with a strangled yelp.

I hear the other one coming to help, and I act fast. I hit the fallen man's exposed neck right in the middle of his throat, and he chokes out a cry, struggling to breathe. The shadow of the second man falls upon me and he looks so enraged that I think for a moment it might be a bad spirit.

His arms try to encircle me, but I'm too small for him to do it. I stumble out of his loose grip and hit the inside of his elbow with my fingers. He seems better prepared than the other man, still choking on his breath on the ground, and instead of incapacitating him I only manage to anger him further.

There's suddenly much more yelling around me, and people calling my name. Right behind the man advancing on me there's a familiar boy with wild ebony hair and pale skin - the one that came to the shrine with his father and brother, the one with pink on his cheeks in the middle of winter.

Things slow down. The boy yells something and reaches for a weapon on his back. The man on the ground finally regains his breath and stumbles to his feet. The other bandit has a rusty knife in his hands and a crazed look in his eyes.

Then, everything fasts forward at neck breaking speed, and a distinct _roar _makes the entire place go silent as a grave. Another energy comes crashing down on me, slightly familiar, and despite all the confusion I feel like smiling.

Orange and red fill my vision, and suddenly I'm warm and floating. The energy is massive but not aggressive towards me; instead it cancels out all the other ones. It makes breathing much easier, and the nausea slowly goes away.

"Don't be foolish, cub. Learn to pick battles you can actually win."

A voice rumbles all around me, and a grin breaks out on my face.

"It's you." I say, and it grumbles at me.

"Don't get used to this. I owe nothing to you; not anymore."

It plops me down unceremoniously on the stairs of our shrine, and I'm only vaguely aware of two pairs of hands frantically making sure I'm alright and trying to call my name.

.

* * *

.

No one _really _knows what happened that day.

It's been over a month since any of us left the shrine grounds - there's no time to do so, we've been incredibly busy with all the curious and intrigued people that come here.

Asahi-sama likes to laugh it off whenever someone asks him about it, blaming his age and poor eyesight (that isn't actually that poor) and managing to play it off each and every time. Hachirou-san was at the edge of the village at the time, trying to keep even more bandits from causing damage, so he really didn't see anything until he got to the shrine.

Now, there are all sorts of things miko are supposed to be able to do. Aside from purification rituals and being supplementary priestesses, shrine maidens used to perform spirit possession and were called female shamans for that reason. It's been a long time since anyone heard anything of the sort - so long ago that even Asahi-sama has heard nothing about - but it's the kind of thing that just sticks to people's minds no matter how many years it's been.

"So what happened was basically this: bandits decided to raid the village near the river, the same village some Uchiha ninja were gathering supplies at. It all went downhill way too fast, especially when someone got fire involved, and then Chihaya is fighting against men twice her size."

I pretend I'm busy sweeping the shrine's entrance, listening with half an ear to the tale Gin-san has told many visitors. Apparently, everyone wants to know about the 'miko who got possessed by a spirit and saved the village' comes to the shrine, but becomes slightly disheartened when someone tells them what really happened.

"She's knocked one of them to the ground and is ready to take on the other when an Uchiha ninja comes to the rescue."

It's actually quite funny to see how people gather around Gin-san, who knows how to tell a story. There's at least six kids around him, all of them listening attentively to his tale. I continue to pretend it's not my business.

"And then-!" As he makes a grand arch with his arms, Nagisa-san appears out of thin air behind him, making him and the children shriek.

"And then The Fox Spirit was summoned, defeating the bandits and bringing the miko to safety, effectively repaying the debt it had."

"Did the miko get possessed?!"

"Did she transform into a beast?!"

"What was The Fox Spirit like?!"

A squirrel darts from the trees and stops right before the red gates, where a boy around my age stands. I immediately recognize him as the one from that day - the same one with wild dark hair and pink on his cheeks.

He looks extremely awkward and out of place, and even though he's wearing civilian clothes it's clear to see he's anything but. I have no doubt he has numerous weapons on his person.

"Can I help you?" I ask, and he startles. Pink colors his cheeks once again, although he has a determined look on his face. I see his dark eyes dart behind me, presumably to scout for danger, before he slowly approaches me.

Instead of answering, he walks until he's right in front of me, eyes not leaving my own. The boy seems to search for something for a while before complicated emotions run on his face; first suspicion, then relief, confusion and suspicion all over again.

'_Boy, oh boy. Do we got a complicated one on our hands.'_

"You…" He finally starts to say something, squinting his eyes at me. "...what are you?"

"How rude." I blurt out, blank faced as ever. He seems to zoom out for a moment, processing the information, until he finally remembers where he is as he jumps back, eyes wide as sake dishes. The pink blooms on his face and he starts to stutter.

'_Cute.'_ I think, but remain stoic on the outside.

"I'm human. What else would I be?" I couple it with a raised eyebrow and nearly lose it when the boy's brain seems to short circuit, his expression entirely out of a satirical drawing.

"T-that's n-n-not what I-!"

I tilt my head to the side, having way too much fun with this. Perhaps Asahi-sama's strange sense of humor has finally rubbed off on me.

"Then what did you mean?"

At this, the boy takes a deep breath to calm down. His face manages to go back to its pale color, although his ears still burn red.

"I meant… that day. On the village." He seems to have trouble continuing the sentence, extending the figurative olive branch to me.

I don't take it.

"Yes?" I prompt, almost laughing out loud when he grinds his teeth together, clearly frustrated.

"How did you do it?"

"Do what?"

He makes a vague gesture with his hands that oddly enough seems to explain quite well what happened on that day.

"Just… everything."

I stand there for a while, taking my time in staring at him and formulating my answer. Something has been bothering me since that day, loudly telling me I should be aware of ninjas and shinobi and their power - not in an aggressive way, though. More in a 'you should keep an eye on them' instead of a 'you should sleep with an eye open just in case' way. There's also something else telling me I should know about this, that this isn't exactly news, but my time Before seems so long ago that what was real and what wasn't are a tangled mess in my head.

I can't tell if ninjas existed for real Before or not, and it bothers me a little.

Regardless, the name Uchiha does ring a bell. It's one of the family names I've been hearing for nine years, the one that belongs to the fire-breathing ninjas with pale skin and dark hair. Asahi-sama told me of people who had learnt to mold their vital energy - chakra, as what the shinobi would call - into a physical form a long, long time ago, and who had passed it down for generations upon generations, until blood and training had made it possible for humans to walk on trees and breathe fire.

Asahi-sama says that all people who have learned to be aware of their chakra have the potential to do all those things; the principle is the same, what matters is how you channel it.

"That's why ninjas can walk on water and punch the earth." The head priest once told me, back when I was still struggling to make sense of a world I couldn't tell was familiar or not. "That is also why some monks can withstand fire on their skin, and why some miko used to be able to get possessed by spirits. It all depends on how you focus your vital energy - and, of course, a lot of training."

Based on all I've read and everything I've seen and felt so far, I've managed to come up with a few theories, but they don't explain all my questions.

'_I have a very strong connection with nature and vital energy. Sometimes the energy speaks to me. The Fox Spirit is real. I saved it from the box that day on the mountains. It felt indebted, and that's why I got rescued a month ago in the village.'_

And that's about all I've got confirmed so far. Whether I'm actually a child blessed by a goddess or not, whether the spirits truly talk to me or not, whether this is completely different from the reality I lived in Before or not-

"H-hey. Did you just space out on me?"

It all remains unanswered, but the thrill of the unknown is just too great for me to resist.

"I'm Chihaya. What's your name?"

"...Madara."

.

* * *

.

With my tenth spring comes the knowledge of Tailed Beasts and everything they're associated with.

It all comes down to a rainy day in the shrine, when all the chores have been done and no visitors are in sight. Asahi-sama beckons me to sit in the veranda with him, two cups of tea in front of him.

"Come, child. It is past the time you learnt your past, and your legacy."

And then began a lengthy tale of a powerful goddess named Kaguya, the creation of chakra as we know it, and fights; a story of family and blood, but also of power and fear and all the emotions that makes us human. Our fragility, our beginning and our end.

Of a time long ago when the Tailed Beasts still roamed the earth freely, when shrine maidens were made to attempt to house the beings of chakra in their own body.

Most importantly, a tale of hope and light.

"Kaguya came from the stars, but you, my dear child, you came from the Sun. You shine brighter than any other star."

"I don't understand, Asahi-sama."

"There might be a day when Kaguya might strike again. It is written in the stars Indra and Ashura are to be reincarnated over and over again. There must be a stop to this never ending bloody cycle."

"I can't do it."

"Do not limit yourself, Chihaya. Your potential is bottomless; to touch it, you have to believe in it."

I take a deep breath, enjoying the warmth of the last rays of Sun of the day. In my lap is the scroll Asahi-sama had given me on Ootsutsuki Hagoromo and the Tailed Beasts - my 'legacy'.

A bitter taste in my mouth, I suddenly stand up and go to my room, where I know I'll be less likely to be interrupted. A candle is lit in the corner, its light barely enough for me to see in the quickly darkening room. My hands are shaking and I quickly clench them into fists, occupying them with searching for a bag and any belongings I might need.

'_There's no such thing as legacy. I don't care if I came from the Sun, and I don't care about housing a Tailed Beast.'_

I would not end up like them.

'_Fuck Kaguya. And while I'm at it, fuck Hagoromo, Indra, and Ashura too.'_

I'm not made of the Sun, or the bark of the trees, or the waters of the river.

'_And what kind of name is Tailed Beasts anyway? They're not beasts. Have some respect you uncultured cockroach.'_

I'm made of my own fire, and I'll kick my 'legacy' in the ass.

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* * *

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new fic who dis

jk jk I actually haven't forgotten about Becoming a Hokage 101 even though it might seem like I did? I just had to get this plot bunny out of my head.


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